bubbles..bubbles

[dansdad]

I am getting bubbles constantly from the return side port on my fiberglass pool . Its a vacuum side so could holes in the cartridges cause that also water is going down and I have no leak I can tell. Thanks Dave

 

[Texas Splash]

Dave, whenever we see bubbles from a return jet, the first thing we do is exhaust everything here: Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks. Bubbles usually mean air is getting "pulled" into your system as opposed to pressure side leaks that typically show externally. In many cases, the link/page I provide resolves the problem. I would suggest trying everything listed there and letting us know if you are still having problems. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

 

[dansdad]

Tex, I did all the water test, valves skimmer and all no go. The valves are fine. Is there any place else I am missing before I call a pool fixit man? No cavitation as yet and my water level is ok it went down but I made sure it was filled as you said. Thanks Dave

 

[Texas Splash]

You might consider posting a pic of your equipment pad just so we can see what you're working on. When we think of bubbles (suction side leak), we first go to the pump basket and check that O-ruing under the clear cover very well. If it's old, just replace it, and make sure it's got a nice coating of lube (i.e. Magic Lube) - no petroleum jelly. Once you know that O-ring and basket are good, we use all the tricks at our disposal to check everything that leads-up to that pump and pump basket (valves, joints, check valves, etc). There probably isn't too much there before it dips into the ground. Generally the water trick works. Some people try shaving cream (can get messy) or even (cigar) smoke (if it's not too windy). Don't forget the pump's drain valve. Pumps also have a small valve that often times has a small O-ring.

Now if you've exhausted all of those above ground items, that might lead us to believe something happened underground from the skimmer/drain to the equipment pad, but that's not very common - kind of a last resort. Even though others will disagree with me .... ........ your cartridge filter is on the pressure side. It should not produce any bubbles. But I had a personal case where after fiddling with my filter, re-sealing the large O-ring, and bleeding the air, it "seemed" to make a difference. You might look at that as well.

 

[duraleigh]

I am getting bubbles constantly from the return side port on my fiberglass pool . Its a vacuum side so could holes in the cartridges cause that

I do not understand what you mean by saying it is a "vacuum side".

Once the water exits the pump it is under pressure and remains under pressure until it exits into the pool from the returns.....air does not get into your system (pump running) from that side of the system.

If your pump is running and you are getting bubbles, they are getting in before the water gets to the pump. There is no other source for air in the system (Pump running) so that air leak is there, you just haven't found it yet.

 

[dansdad]

ok let me say it like this as I may not have wording correctly. When the water goes to the hose and then to the cleaner its ok. The other opening on the pool sends bubbles and lot of them. So, if one outlet is for the vacuum side and the cleaner is connected there which it is, then what is the other port? Never had bubbling trouble before. Never

 

[Texas Splash]

Forgive me please dansdad. I have to admit I'm still trying to grasp the details (been a long day). I guess my first question should be, "What type of vacuum or cleaner do you use?" Is that an automatic cleaner you have connected, or do you vacuum manually (hose to the skimmer)? That may help us a bit. It is not uncommon to see some bubbles during a manual vacuuming mainly because air can get into those hoses on the way to the skimmer. But if you use an automated-type cleaner, or pressurized cleaner, we may have other things to consider.

 

[dansdad]

Sorry my fault. I have a dedicated vacuum port on my pool. I connect my hoses and cleaner to that port I have had many cleaners but none work all that great and now I have one called a yoyager. It seems to work well so I didn't think it was a problem with the cleaner and this bubble problem is fairly recent. The water in the basket used to be full now I can see that the water isn't all the way up to the top. Don't know what to think. Could a small leak in the hoses be a problem or is that on the other side? Thank You

 

[Texas Splash]

Absolutely. While I don't have personal experience with the Voyager, vacuum hoses can let the slightest amount of air in during use. Next thing you know your pump basket water level drops and the you see more air coming into the pool from the return jets. I manually vacuum, and when I do, my pump basket level drops immediately. Naturally I see air from the returns, even though the hose is fairly new and "appears" to be in good condition. If you disconnect the vacuum and your pump basket fills to the top and bubbles stop appearing from the return jets, you can pretty-much bet its the vacuum line/hose. At least you would rule-out anything significant from the plumbing or pool equipment itself.

- - - Updated - - -

There's also that possibility of the air getting pulled-in not only from the vacuum hose, but perhaps the dedicated port or line itself. But I would hope that if that plumbing line travels underground back to the equipment pad, the likelihood of that would be small.

 

[dansdad]

Thank you so much I have extra hoses and I will first replace hoses that are on the top of the water and go from there thank you

 

[dansdad]

ok I checked the hoses and they have good suction, I pulled them apart just to double check and put them back together. I went to the filter housing and again filled with air. After I opened the small air bleeder for a little while for the air to bleed out...I was really hoping for a cracked hose no such luck, don't know where to go

 

[Texas Splash]

It's possible the hoses you are using are still allowing some air in. I have a Barracuda vacuum that came with multiple hoses I have to connect together. Each joint can pull-in air. My regular (manual) vacuum line has a long single hose, and I still manage to get air in with that as well. If you disconnect the vacuum and just let the pool run without the cleaner, does the air problem go away?

 

[dansdad]

I am going to try that just straight from port no cleaner have to do tomorrow it 7 pm here thank you

 

[duraleigh]

I am getting bubbles constantly from the return side port on my fiberglass pool

By "constantly" do you mean whether you are vacuuming or not?.....or just when you are vacuuming?

 

[dansdad]

Whenever the pool pump is turned on no matter what, I get bubbles. My pump runs at different speeds during the day but if it runs at 2500, 1500, or 750 I will get bubbles

 

[Texas Splash]

Just so we are clear on our end.. during those times when the pump is on, is that vacuum always connected? If not, if you are getting bubbles when the vacuum is not connected, then there is something on the suction side "pulling" air into the pools water system. That's where extreme diligence and investigative work comes into play when evaluating all those suspect items we noted yesterday.

 

[dansdad]

ok this is what I did... I removed the pool cleaner with hose and it startled to really bubble up for a while and now it stopped. Is that a hose problem? How to check...go hose to hose or what do you folks think? I know no one has heard of a voyager pool cleaner but its vacuum like my mx 8 was just different cleaner and different hoses

 

[Texas Splash]

Well, the good thing is that it sounds as if it is related to the hose(s) as the bubbling stopped after disconnecting the vacuum. That's a relief. Someone who has the same vacuum may reply with a comment. If I recall correctly, yesterday you said that cleaner came with hose "sections" that you assembled right? Do you have any extra single-line hose available you could try? At least that might help resolve or reduce the amount of air getting pulled-in from the hose during vacuuming.

One other silly question (not sure we discussed this before), but when you connect the vacuum hose, do you purge all the air out first? Usually before we connect the hose end to the vacuum source (skimmer or dedicated vacuum port), we will hold the vacuum end against the pool's return jets to fill-up the hose with water as much as possible to remove any air in the hose before final connections. Just wanted to confirm.

 

[dansdad]

I do have 3 extra hoses so I can put those on first and then go from the next ones one at a time to find any bad ones. Yes I did place each hose in water to purge but I guess something went wrong so I guess 3 new ones and then check any others that I am using to find the culprit. I wish there cleaner companies used the same hoses as it would be much easier to just replace them all. These hoses are much different not like the Hayward push in or even mx 8 twist lock. I could work around that

 

[Texas Splash]

I totally agree. Much like our car companies, they each seem to have their proprietary sizes and fittings that make owner-user maintenance that much more tricky. I hope you find the hose or spot that's letting the air in and giving you trouble. Enjoy your evening.